The Use of Videos in the Prevention of Chagas Disease in Ecuador

by Nogueira, Julia C.

Abstract (Summary)

More than 20 million people in the world are infected with Chagas disease in 18 Latin American countries, and 50,000 people die a year from the illness. Since there is no vaccine for Chagas and the cure is only effective in rare cases, prevention is fundamental to combat the disease. Different health communication theories present ways to achieve behavior change, but little has been done regarding Chagas. And the existent educational materials and videos were not produced following health communication theories. Due to the lack of awareness and proper educational materials dedicated to Chagas, this thesis created a series of preventative public service announcements and an educational video. To guarantee they were adequate to the target audience's needs and capability of action, the videos were pre-tested with 129 community members from Ecuador. The research concludes that presenting adequate information and using an appropriate language to the target audience's comprehension is fundamental to the effectiveness of video materials. Pre-testing video materials and making indicated changes before implementation is also fundamental. This research also created and suggests the implementation of a complete Communication Strategy for Chagas disease prevention in Ecuador.